In the nineteenth century the Europeans were able to dominate the world with their incredible technical, economic, and cultural powers. European colonization, especially by England, France, and Holland, was established in many parts of Africa and Asia. European civilization seemed superior and completely invincible.

But in the twentieth century, Europe almost committed suicide. Although there were two world wars between August, 1914, and May, 1945, in reality this period was a long civil war among Europeans with a brief hiatus between the First and the Second World War. After 1945, it was obvious that the superiority of European culture was a myth, and each European country with colonies in Africa eventually had to grant independence to almost all of its colonies.

The Soviet Union controlled the eastern part of Europe, and the United States controlled Western Europe. With the economic help of the United States, the western part Europe was able to quickly reconstruct its economic power, and the foundation of the European Union soon emerged from the ashes of the Second World War.